Review: Scottish indie stalwarts Franz Ferdinand thrust onto the scene back in 2004 seeking to antidote the then bad-boy aesthetic of groups like The Libertines with smart, suave 'music to dance to'. Fourteen years on and following a slight lineup change, their objective doesn't appear to have changed with their fifth album 'Always Ascending'. Produced by Philippe Zdar of famed Parisian duo Cassius - it's a slick, tight record that's doused in their trademark off-kilter panache. Over forty energetic minutes, there's a lot to dig into; the ballad 'The Academy Award' and art-pop oddball 'Huck & Jim' let Alex Kapranos' dry wit come to the fore, the infectious funk-channeling chorus on 'Finally' sounds like a dip into 60's pop, while 'Feel The Love Go' is vintage Franz Ferdinand. 'Always Ascending' sees Franz Ferdinand full of charm, reinvigorated, and perfectly comfortable in no longer needing to prove anything.

Review: It's been a long time between solo albums for Hot Chip man Joe Goddard; Electric Lines, his sophomore set, appears eight years on from well received debut Harvest Festival. Musically, Electric Lines seems to have been designed as something of a hotchpotch: a tribute to the enduring hold that electronic instrumentation - and particular drum machines - has over pop and dance music in its various forms. Goddard is a master at creating killer pop hooks, though, so whatever he turns his hand to - in this case electrofunk, synth-pop, electro-disco, house, techno and Italo-disco - invariably sounds both exciting and accessible. In other words, Electric Lines offers a good balance between Goddard's underground interests and his astute pop instincts.

Review: Julia Holter herself describes this new album as "the cacophony of the mind in a melting world," and it provides the American singer, songwriter with her first studio album since 2015's Have You In My Wilderness. Aviary is an intrigue to say the least and it's hard not to feel as if a horror-thematic runs throughout its 11 tracks, with moments of temporary insanity and distress intertwining with hair-raising spots a ghostly allure, and it's as if any lightness in the album has had to pass its way through a thicket of darkness first. There's much dissonance to be heard here too but in a pleasantly unsettling way akin to listening to an orchestra tune itself, and with all the deep and meaningful aspects behind Holter's inspirations, it's a hell of a ride.

Review: Julia Holter herself describes this new album as "the cacophony of the mind in a melting world," and it provides the American singer, songwriter with her first studio album since 2015's Have You In My Wilderness. Aviary is an intrigue to say the least and it's hard not to feel as if a horror-thematic runs throughout its 11 tracks, with moments of temporary insanity and distress intertwining with hair-raising spots a ghostly allure, and it's as if any lightness in the album has had to pass its way through a thicket of darkness first. There's much dissonance to be heard here too but in a pleasantly unsettling way akin to listening to an orchestra tune itself, and with all the deep and meaningful aspects behind Holter's inspirations, it's a hell of a ride.

Review: We never quite know what to expect from leftfield explorer Jon Hopkins, but we know it will be worth a listen. Immunity, his fourth solo album (he's recorded two others, one with Brian Eno and another with King Creosote), doesn't disappoint. Rooted in shuffling, forthright and occasionally off-kilter rhythms, it melds hazy, late night atmospherics and subtle melodies with intense, droning chords, woozy electronics and all manner of inventive noises. It's a blend that repeatedly pays dividends, from the mournful pianos and jumpy rhythms of "Breathe This Air', to the crystalline, soundscape ambience of "Abandon Window", and glitchy wonkiness of "Form By Firelight".

Review: Hot Chip continue to occupy a unique space in British music. Yet despite their standing as a bunch of polymaths just as at home with pure pop as experimental diversions, what continues to truly separate them from all or any contemporaries is a rich melancholy to their sound, and it's this which looms pleasantly large on 'Why Make Sense'. The songwriting of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard has never sounded sharper, not their beat-driven yet tastefully spare sound more addictive. Now as ever, no-one can reconcile human emotion and machine-like rhythm in quite the same fashion as this maverick outfit.

Review: Hot Chip continue to occupy a unique space in British music. Yet despite their standing as a bunch of polymaths just as at home with pure pop as experimental diversions, what continues to truly separate them from all or any contemporaries is a rich melancholy to their sound, and it's this which looms pleasantly large on 'Why Make Sense'. The songwriting of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard has never sounded sharper, not their beat-driven yet tastefully spare sound more addictive. Now as ever, no-one can reconcile human emotion and machine-like rhythm in quite the same fashion as this maverick outfit.

Review: Remixers must jump at the chance to work with a Junior Boys vocal and this time around it's Carl Craig who has caught the bouquet. CC works the "Like A Child" vocal to perfection, pitching it alongside harmonious synths, a body moving bass line and subtle percussion. Mike Simonetti hits up some indie dance vibes in his remix to Blood Orange's "Champagne Coast" as a walking bass line embraces washed-out vocals and shimmering synths.

Review: The low-temperature duo of Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince have always exuded a heavy-lidded charisma, and now as ever their combination of gnarled garage riffage and beat-driven minimalism, overlaid with Mosshart's insouciant vocals finds its virtues in its simplicity. 'Ash & Ice' however, shows a band not afraid to add substance to their style - for every needle-sharp floor-filler like the ESG-sampling 'Siberian NIghts', there's a curveball like the heartfelt Stonesy ballad 'That Love', which has the raw bite of Cat Power. Crucially, fourteen years into their life as a band, this duo still sound unafraid to get their claws out.

Review: More than merely an awaybreak for its members Alex Turner and Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets proved themselves on their debut 'Age Of The Understatement' to be masters of a distinctly '60s-styled world of glamour and arresting artifice, their clever wordplay and swooning harmonies combining with ornate arrangements to create a sound as redolent of black-and-white kitchen sink dramas as the trials and tribulations of the twenty-first century everyday. This long-awaited sequel, meanwhile - reuniting them with string arranger Owen Pallett - displays that whereas their careers may have moved in markedly different directions in the interim, their wry and wordily ditties when united display an enviable chemistry and magnetic charm.

Review: A collaboration between Franz Ferdinand and Todd Terje? Not the most obvious of partnerships, but it certainly works. Franz Ferdinand's post-punk tendencies get extended and polished with Nordic cosmic charm and the result are two timeless, dubbed out exercises in deep funk. "Evil Eye" looks up to the sky with euphoric stomps and wistful synth licks while "Stand On The Horizon" cuts loose with more of an angular swagger. A really interesting departure for Franz Ferdinand, Todd Terje and Domino.

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